October 27, 2017 – Thank you to everyone who joined us for our 2017 Shine Celebration! We are beyond grateful for your generosity and support of our children and families.

August 6, 2017 – Congratulations to our 116 Early Learner Graduates! We are so proud of all of our preschoolers and their families. We know they will do amazing things next year in Kindergarten!

July 13, 2017 – Congratulations to all our third graders who graduated our Great By Eight program this year! We had an such a evening celebrating with our families. Good luck in fourth grade and beyond!

May 17, 2017 – Thank you to all who attended our luncheon for supporting our mission to ensure every child is born healthy, stays healthy, and is prepared to succeed in school and life.

As Dr. Gearity indicated (slides available here), studies show a strong correlation between a child’s overall physical and mental health, and how well they are able to perform in school socially, emotionally, and academically. By third grade, this performance often predicts how likely he or she is to graduate from high school, and go on to college. Way to Grow helps give children a strong start by connecting some of our city’s most isolated families to the resources they need and establish a more secure position at home, in school, and within the community.

March 2, 2017

January 26, 2017 – Way to Grow hosted a special event to help families find, select, and enroll their children in school. The Ready for Kindergarten event, open to the public, reminded parents the importance of serving as their child’s first teacher and number one advocate. “When choosing a school, finding a good fit really comes down to parents knowing and advocating for what their children need,” Hannah Peterson, Director of Education at Way to Grow says. “It is also about building a strong partnership between schools, parents, and the community to best support each child–another point we really wanted parents to come away with.”

The Ready for Kindergarten event also allowed space for parents to ask questions and participate in group discussion topics. Many families were particularly interested in learning more about Minneapolis Public School dual-language program offerings and overall school registration requirements. Parents also received checklists on what to look for when touring a school, and on key school-readiness skills their child should have by the time they start school (based on the state’s new Early Childhood Indicators of Progress). In support of these skills, the community session also highlighted activities parents can do at home with their children, such as those outlined by the City’s Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing program and included in Way to Grow’s home visiting curriculum, to ensure their children enter school this fall ready to succeed.